Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali took an unconventional approach while directing one of Indian cinema’s greatest icons, Naseeruddin Shah: giving him live directions right in the middle of a take while the camera was actively rolling.
“The liberties that I took with Naseer, I didn't take with Vedang Raina and Sharvari. Now that I’m thinking about it, he should have slapped me a few times,” Ali laughs as he sits down with The Hollywood Reporter India to discuss his latest directorial venture, Main Vaapas Aaunga.
Set in Punjab during the turbulent years of Partition, the historical drama explores deep themes of love, longing, and migration, and also stars Diljit Dosanjh.
Delving into his unique process with the veteran actor, Ali shares, "The camera is rolling, the take is on, he is performing, and within the take I was giving him instructions! I know that I can take my sound out from the final version, so I am giving him instructions, as though he is a junior artist.
"Not only am I giving him the instructions, but he is also receiving it; it's changing his eyes, I can see the difference. He is the kind of actor who, if you say something, there will be a change instantly."
The filmmaker also recalled a tense but humorous moment from the shoot during a high-octane climax scene. Ali wanted to press Shah for a second take — a prospect that made co-star Dosanjh so nervous he evacuated the set.
"After a beautiful take (for the climax), when he was finished, exhausted everything, I remember telling Diljeet that I was going to ask for one more take from him. Diljit said, 'Oh baap rey, main toh bahar jaa raa hu, aap maanglo, all the best sir!'
"Then Naseer said, 'What nonsense... how can I do another take, what (exactly) do you want?!' I said something and then he agreed. He is like a kid; he reacts like that. Because it (the scene) is painful, and he is doing it with full intensity, which isn't easy. But he did it."
Ali further revealed that when Shah recently watched the final cut of the film, he curiously asked which of the two takes made it into the movie.
"I told him it was the first take!" Ali laughs.
The filmmaker acknowledged that while it was an incredibly "rigorous shoot" for the veteran actor, the entire unit adored him.
"He is someone I am genuinely excited for people to see on screen because I have never seen him like this in any film. I didn't want to cast him just to play a version of who we think he is. There has to be something new for a Naseeruddin Shah, because the man has already done everything," he added.